Housing transactions to see strongest growth in Q4 hinh anh 1Housing transactions are expected to see the strongest growth in 2018 this fourth quarter (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA)Vietnam’s real estate market in the final quarter of 2018 is likely to see the strongest growth of the year in housing transactions, even higher than that of the same period last year, according to Nguyen Van Dinh, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARs).

Binh gave the forecast at a VARs event in Hanoi on October 11 to announce its report on the domestic property market in the third quarter.

He said the nationwide market is anticipating the upcoming launches of various new projects from October to December, and that unit prices will only pick up 0.5-1 percent from the previous quarter, which is not significant.

In the final quarter, the market will welcome launches of a wide range of products while the economy is predicted to remain stable and experience strong growth with positive outlook on housing demand and investment. At the same time, foreign direct investment (FDI) will continue pouring into Vietnam, especially as a wave of FDI will be redirected from investments in China due to great concerns over the US-China trade tension, according to VARs.

This quarter is also the period in which Vietnam usually receives the highest level of remittance in the year, with real estate also often viewed as the best investment channel compared to stocks, gold, and foreign currencies.

In the third quarter of 2018, over 200,000 new units were launched in the country’s two economic hubs, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with prices staying flat from the second quarter. About 13,000 units were sold, accounting for 63.5 percent of the total supply.

In Hanoi, middle-range apartments made up 54 percent of the total transactions. Meanwhile in Ho Chi Minh, high-end units dominated with 40.5 percent, followed by the middle-range segment with 36.5 percent.

However, resort properties witnessed drops in supply and successful transactions in the previous quarter. The VARs recommended developers to halt developing new resort projects to avoid oversupply. –VNA 
VNA